“Big Lebowski” star Jeff Bridges had good news Monday in his fight against cancer. The Oscar-winning actor also revealed that he nearly died from COVID-19 after contracting the coronavirus during chemotherapy.
“My cancer is in remission — the 9×12 mass has shrunk down to the size of a marble,” Bridges wrote on his website. “My Covid is in the rear view mirror … Covid kicked my a** pretty good, but I’m double vaccinated & feeling much better now.”
Bridges announced in October 2020 that he had been diagnosed with lymphoma.
On Monday, he also shared an entry from March of 2021 chronicling his dire fight against COVID-19 that he didn’t publish at the time.
Bridges said that the chemotherapy center he was going to sent him a letter in January to warn him that he might have been exposed to the virus while getting treatment.
He said both he and his wife ended up testing positive and were hospitalized.
“She spends 5 days in the hospital. Me … ? I’m there 5 weeks.”
Bridges said he thought his chemotherapy-weakened immune system was the cause of the extended stay.
“My dance with Covid makes my cancer look like a piece of cake,” he added. “While I had moments of tremendous pain (screaming singing, a sort of moaning song all through the night) gettin’ close to the Pearly gates …”
But Bridges said that the experience taught him about the fleeting beauty of life and inspired him to “receive the gift” it’s giving.
“I mean who would want to get cancer & Covid?” he said. “It turns out I would. I would because I get to learn more about love, and learn things that I never would have if I never got it.”
Bridges revealed that he’s needed supplemental oxygen to walk around until recently, and that his own breathing reminded him of Darth Vader from “Star Wars.” A goal for his therapy was to lose the oxygen tank in time to walk down the aisle with his daughter Hayley at her wedding, which he did recently.
“I was able to, not only walk Hay down the aisle, but do the father/Bride dance with her without oxygen.”
Now, the award-winning actor says, he’s also looking forward to getting back to production for the FX series “The Old Man.”